US, China Working to get ZTE Back into Business: Trump

Washington,(IANS) Washington and Beijing are working to get Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE, which is suffering from a US exports ban, back into business, said US President Donald Trump.

“President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast,” Trump tweeted on Sunday.

“Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!” he added.

ZTE, one of the world’s largest telecom equipment makers, was forced to suspend its main operations worldwide after the US Commerce Department prohibited American companies from exporting products to it in mid-April.

ZTE admitted to violating US sanctions in 2017, by illegally shipping US technology to Iran and Korea and was later fined $1.1 billion.

Following the exports ban, ZTE said it was making active communications with relevant parties to seek a solution to the issue and stressed that it attached significant importance to export control compliance.

The Chinese public and government are greatly concerned about the fate of the company, which has nearly 80,000 employees across the globe.

The incident also triggered in China extensive discussions about the necessity and urgency to develop a reliable domestic chip industry.

During the latest China-US economic and trade consultations held in Beijing in early May, the Chinese side lodged “solemn representations” with the US over the ZTE case.

The US delegates responded that they “attach importance to” China’s stance and will report it to President Trump, according to a spokesperson with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

The ZTE ban is also expected to cause sizable losses for the companies’ key American suppliers in both revenues and jobs.